mind map:

about Stoller and why I have studied him:

Ezra Stoller was an architecture student at NYC who was born in Chicago in 1915 and later moved to New York where he grew up. He graduated in 1938 with a BFA in industrial design and went on to take photographs in the Office of emergence Management. He then got drafted and became a photographer at the Army Signal Corps photo centre in 1942. After World War II he continued his career and passion for architectural photography and over the following forty years be became a well know photographer, famously know for his architectural images, and his use of lighting and perspective which allowed him to produce elegant images showing the beauty of architecture. Many of his images show the three dimensional structures that building hold and he was very focused on his vantage point as well as the lighting that his images would need to turn out the way he wished them to. From my mood board you can tell that lots of his image contain similar lines, shapes, tones, and textures. Stoller was able to uniquely visualise the inspiration that architecture gave off and chose to photograph it to keep it alive. Some of his images are what people recognise building from and he has become a photographer who captured social history and document incredible pieces of architecture. At the time, Stoller work with many of the top architects such as Frank Loyd Wright, Paul Rudolph, Marcel Breuer and many more. Sadly, Stoller passed away on the 29th of October in 2004 but his legacy will forever go on.

I have chosen to study Ezra Stoller as I think his work is very powerful and I hope to achieve some images inspired by his for my personal study. In his images he includes lots of symmetry which I think draws the viewer into the images making them engaged and they then see the detail that they hold. All of his images are of quite large open building which I think allows for a simple but effective image with room for the viewer to add their own story of interpretation. All of Stoller’s images are presented in black and white which in architecture photography leaves us with images with great detail and different tones. I also think that it means that the viewer can focus on the actual architecture and not get distracted by the colours of the images. Overall I really like Stoller’s work and am heavily inspired by his images and wish to make a successful response to them.

artist zoom-in:

bibliography:

https://aboutphotography.blog/photographer/ezra-stoller#:~:text=Stoller’s%20photographic%20style%20is%20characterized,beauty%20of%20each%20architectural%20subject.

https://aboutphotography.blog/photographer/ezra-stoller

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Stoller

mind map:

about Kardinal and why have studied him:

Shaun Kardinal was born in Suburban California in 1982 but moved to Seattle after high school. He began running an art gallery a few years later non-profitable, and as he was a graphics designer and web developer it meant that he had worked with a range of artists, organisations and galleries. From this it inspired him to do some himself. Shaun’s embroidery passion began in 2009 when a friend sent him a postcard that they had stitched into, so he also did it on a postcard and set it back. Kardinal loved the way it looked and ever since he has been stitching into postcards. When he stitches into them he tried to use either colours that contrast or colours that are in the picture slightly to tie them in. When it comes to the design of the stitching Kardinal often just does what ever he feels will look good or link in to the image in some way.

I have chosen to study Kardinal as I would like to try and incorporate his stitching design into some pieces of my work. As some of my images may be quite simple so that the viewer can focus on the building in question, I think that adding some stitching into the image could make my images more engaging and could give the viewer some more detail about the building or a reason as to why I have chosen to photograph that particular one. Whilst Kardinal does whatever design he thinks, I am going to focus on making the design link to my image and provide the viewer with context. Overall I think that this could develop my image further and make them more intriguing, drawing the viewer in, and also giving them some sort or back story.

artist zoom-in:

bibliography:

https://shaunkardinal.com/

https://artisttrust.org/artists/shaun-kardinal/

https://www.artland.com/artists/shaun-kardinal

For my personal study I want to follow the theme of architecture through nostalgia with different buildings from old to modern. Through this I want to show the evolution of architecture and how is has changed from what I used to see when I was younger to what I see now becoming more and more modern. Within this I may photography different houses or buildings that have been damaged due to the storm to develop my study as well as the environmental side of building in Jersey and whether or not our heritage is keeping its legacy or if it is slowly disappearing being a main reason to keep my images untouched. ‘Photographs, which fiddle with the scale of the world, themselves get reduced, blown up, cropped, retouched, doctored, tricked out.‘ Susan Sontag (1971), On Photography. Previously I have studied Anthropocene which I feel may fit into my personal study slightly as I photographed some buildings during that topic as well as used it as a way of awareness about the environment and how the use of plastic has rapidly increased. Not only has plastic increased but also wasted materials which some have come from building sites. I have chosen this topic because not only do I enjoy exploring different architectures, but because I find that there are so many hidden buildings that aren’t seen very often around Jersey which should be shown, and I want to explore this further with some being edited etc but also some being left to showcase the architecture itself. To develop my project I am going to visit the different parts of the island to find building that have been here for a while to newer builds or ones that have been done up to show modern building that are becoming more and more common. Once I have collect all of my images I am going to present them in a photobook so that you can clearly see all of my images. To begin my study I am going to photograph older building all over the island to showcase what architecture Jersey has. Most of my image are going to be taken in landscape in order to include the whole building in the image, however, some may be in portraiture if I think that will look better. I think that my images will look best in day light so that I can capture the detail in the buildings exterior, and that all of my images will be outside as I am focusing on the exterior of buildings rather then the interior. My images won’t be staged as I will photograph the buildings how they are without adapting them at all to show the raw architecture in Jersey. Some of my images may be presented by accompany text to tell the viewer why I have photographed the building as well as having my essay at the end of my book, however, most of my images will be presented on their own so that the viewer can use their imagination and can explore their own thoughts on them. I will use a linear sequence approach to display my images to tell a story from old buildings to new ones which will allow the viewer to see the change that is happening over time. Once I have my images I may collage some of them with different materials to tell something about the building rather than using text as it allows the viewer to have there own interpretation on the building whilst having a hint to guide them. I will leave most of my images plain so that the building is the main focus and the viewer doesn’t get distracted from me editing it etc. I will use Lightroom classic to adjust the images slightly to make them clearer or to set the mood of the image, i.e., some of my images may be in black and white. I think that this will make my images stand out and tell a story which hopefully the viewer will understand whilst still being able to have their own thoughts about what I have captured. I aim for my personal study to represent the theme of nostalgia from how the building have developed from building that have been on the island for a very long time or even listed buildings to buildings that are more for the looks or being very modern which are becoming more popular these days. Whilst photography has been developing architecture has too, almost alongside it and that is what I aim to show.

what is nostalgia:

Nostalgia is a word that we use to describe how we feel when we think about different memories from things like photographs , childhood or places etc from past experiences. We usually associate nostalgia with happiness, warmth and comforting thoughts rather than ones that make us feel sad. I think that many people like the feeling of nostalgia even if it were to make them emotional as it is normally because of how fast time goes and is almost bittersweet rather than upsetting. Nostalgia can be about many different things from things like tv shows that we used to watch or food that we ate when we were growing up to things that we saw on walk or phrases we said. I think that nostalgia is such a vars topic that can be inter-rotated in many different forms for different people, however, we all gain that similar heart warming feeling when experiencing it.

mood board:

mind map:

Over the course of year 12 and 13 we have worked on many different projects. I have chosen three of mine to review and reflect before I begin my personal study.

My Jersey:

One of my very first projects was called ‘My Jersey’. Within the project I explored the life of my grandad who was a farmer on the island for the majority of his life/ until he was no longer able to. I chose to do this for my project as I felt that it linked well not only to Jersey but also to myself making it easier for me as I had a better understanding and could relate to the images. I have taken images of the farm, some of the tractors that are still there and of my grandad as well as using old images of him that my grandparents had. I think that this explores the theme of ‘nostalgia’ and ‘home’ very well within my photography, as it is my families history with the Jersey farming industry and how my parents, grandparents and so on grew up with the farm as their main part of life. To present my images I used the artist Noemie Goudal. She is an artist who takes images and print them out to them place them in front of another background images to take her final image. I was inspired my by her however, I took my own approach on it and instead used photoshop to place my images over the top of one another with different opacity’s and sizes to see the back image more or less. I liked this project because it allowed me to reflect on how my family’s way of life was back then and how different it is to how we live now. It was also interesting to see how my parent grew up living on the farm and, how many children grow up these days without that factor with the world modifying over the years. Overall I like how this project turned out and think the final outcomes are a more engaging way to present my project allowing viewers for their own interpretation as well.

my outcomes:

rural and urban:

My second project that I have chosen to reflect on is the ‘rural and urban’ project. Whilst these were two separate projects I have decided to reflect on them together as I think they go hand in hand in some ways. For this projects I focused on landscape images and architecture which is one of my favourite areas to photograph. This helped during my project as it allowed me to create better images as I was more interested in it. To take my rural images I walked through some lanes in St Clements and Grouville, photographing the fields that were around me as well as the beach and some houses that I felt fit the theme. For some of these photos I was inspired by Adam Burton who is a British landscape photographer. I liked how his images were focused on nature and captured the same thing that I was trying to capture. Once I had collected a large amount of images I edited them by, making some black and white to show the contrast in the images with the different tones, I adjusted the brightness of some images as well as the tone of colours that they captured to make them feel more rural etc. For the urban images I walked through town and bellozane to create more architecture images and construction. With my images I then edited them as well as make some final pieces with with them from editing them on photoshop. Overall I like how both of these projects turned out and think that I may do something inspired by these for my personal study linking to architecture.

some of my outcomes:

the sublime:

The last of my projects that I am going to reflect on is ‘the sublime’. Again, I liked this project as it allowed me to photograph more landscape images, focusing on the coast with the weather and sea being a main part. Whilst taking these images I used different shutter speeds determined by what I wanted my images to turn out like. For some of them with waves I had a longer shutter speed to make them flow better, whilst some of the other had a shorter shutter speed to make them sharper. I like these images as I think they show of Jersey well and link to the theme nostalgia from growing up hear especially as I live on the coast as well. For this photoshoot I chose to use the artist Ansel Adams who was an American landscape photographer. I think that some of my images are a good interpretation of his but from a Jersey point of view especially with it being an island. Once I had taken my images I opened them up on Lightroom and made some of them black and white to show the detail, different tones and to make the images feel for gloomy as it is on the coast in the winter. Overall I like how all of these image turned out. I think that they all hold lots of depth and detail with the different tones in the black and white images. I like some of the areal shots as they capture Jersey almost as if I am a visitor who sees Jersey very differently to how I do which adds a variety to my work. I think that I could link my personal study to this project in some way to do with the island landscape or beaches.

some of my outcomes:

final film link: The Three Canons

overview of Elizabeth castle:

Essentially Elizabeth Castle is a little islet in St Aubin’s bay that has protected Jersey for over 4 hundred years. Back in the 17th century, and after, it was used to battle wars and defend Jersey from incoming rivals etc. Now it has become more of a tourist attraction or somewhere to visit on a day out. With a ferry type vehicle and a short causeway walk, it attracts many people in the summer whether is it for the scenic views or the historical factors and value that it holds. The castle has become a very sentimental part of Jersey holding much historical value throughout.

what was it made for:

The history began in 1590’s when it was called home to Sir Walter Raleigh while he was Governor of Jersey. It was only in the 1600s when it was decided that jersey needed a new castle as Mont Orgueil had become outdated and wasn’t secure enough to hold all of the soldiers, defend Jersey adequately as well as store all of the weapons and machinery that they had gained including cannons and gunpowder. It was then decided that they would use the islet in St Aubin’s to build the new castle. It was built in 1601 and was first used in the English civil war in the 17th century. During the English Civil war the future King Charles II sought refuge at the castle as well as during the German Occupation. The castle was refortified as the strongest point during the battles as it had view of the harbour to see anything incoming the Island. Following this is was used many times after to defend Jersey and is now one of Jerseys most treasurable monuments.

our film:

For our film we are going to focus it on the battle of Jersey and daily tasks that a gunner would do. We will create a documentary style video to show viewers the types of things that would happen at the castle back then. Within the film we are going to use sound audios that will be recorded there and videos that we have shot. In the editing process we are going to add music audios to parts of it and may also use the original video sound at times.

battle of jersey:

The battle of Jersey took place on the 6th of January 1781, whereby Jersey acted as a military stand point between France and Britain. After a long day of battling Britain took the victory and Jersey were loyal to the English crown.

what are archives:

Archives are a way to hold documents, images, videos, recording and more. Archives in photography are where many old, historical images are held, often in libraries or museums. Many of the images help us to understand to this day what things were like back then and how photography has evolved. The Société Jersiaise archives is an educational charity and is known for having over 15,000 images of portraits of named people as well as images of the island including even bay, the valleys and more. Not only does it hold older images but also newer image that will be held for the future and for memories. It is an important cultural heritage value that Jersey is lucky to have. They have be producing and documenting things from archeology, geology, ecology and economy, to community, architecture and culture for the past 150 years through the form of photographic material. The archives hope to provide a way to reflect on the past life and events through their multiple collections.

artist zoom in: Percival Dunham

Percival Dunham was a photographer journalist since 1911, and photographed events such as the Jersey Battle of Flowers and the grounding of the roebuck at St Brelade’s Bay. He left Jersey in 1914 to serve in 503 Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery during World War 1. As little is known about him, it is assumed that he moved to the island in the latter half of 1911. After the war he moved back to Jersey and lived here until his death in 1961. On the 7th of April an exhibition was opened at the Jersey Art Centre featuring a large number of his images collected from the Société Jersiaise archives. Overall Dunham produced a remarkable amount of images of Jersey all over the island about life before and after the Great War. It is said that Dunham’s style of images was ahead of his time which is why they were so greatly impactful.

image analysis:

conclusion:

To conclude, I think that archives are more than just gatekeeping old photos or documents but a way of holding the history of Jersey and knowledge that can be passed on to understand it. Not only do these photos show us how the Island was back then but they also hold deep stories that are very meaningful to many people and can show us how Jersey has evolved and developed since. I also believe that history in involved in everyones lives whether its to do with family, traditions or architecture etc. Within many of the photos that the Société Jersiaise archives hold we can see these aspects throughout. this makes the images more sentimental and hold greater meaning. Some of what the images capture is still on the island to this day showing its importance to Jersey and how islanders treasure it.